Sex-specific associations between childhood trauma and adult systemic inflammation in daily life

OBJECTIVE

Childhood trauma may contribute to lifelong health through chronic systemic inflammation. However, associations between childhood trauma and inflammation are mixed, indicating that distinct types of childhood trauma may relate to inflammation differently. Moreover, most studies use a single assessment of inflammatory markers that may not reliably estimate stable interindividual differences. The current study is the first to examine relationships between childhood trauma and an ecologically valid measure of inflammation derived from repeated assessments of interleukin (IL)-6 in daily life. We also examine the possibility that glucocorticoid sensitivity and patterns of daily cortisol may contribute to observed associations. Finally, we explore whether biological sex moderates relationships between childhood trauma and IL-6.

METHOD

Participants were 283 healthy adults aged 40-64 (57% female, 23% Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and self-collected dried blood spots at home on 4 days to measure IL-6. Measures of salivary cortisol and blood-based glucocorticoid sensitivity were also assessed.

RESULTS

Childhood trauma was not associated with IL-6 in the sample as a whole. However, exploratory analyses showed that childhood trauma related to IL-6 differently for males and females, such that total trauma and emotional neglect predicted higher IL-6 for males but not females. Results persisted after adjustment for covariates. There was no evidence for indirect effects via cortisol or glucocorticoid sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood trauma and, specifically, emotional neglect were associated with IL-6 in daily life among middle-aged males. Additional research is needed to elucidate biological and behavioral pathways underlying these associations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Early Life SES, Childhood Trauma Exposures, and Cardiovascular Responses to Daily Life Stressors in Middle-aged Adults

BACKGROUND

Dysregulation in physiological responses to stress may provide a mechanism through which low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood negatively impacts health. Evidence linking early life SES to physiological stress responses is inconsistent. Exposure to childhood trauma may be an important source of heterogeneity accounting for mixed findings. Guided by the adaptive calibration model, we examined whether childhood SES and childhood trauma jointly predict ambulatory measures of cardiovascular responses to daily life stressors.

METHOD

A sample of 377 healthy, middle-aged adults (62% female, 80% White, 64% college-educated, Mage = 52.59 ± 7.16) completed a 4-day ecological momentary assessment protocol that measured task strain, social conflict, and ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) at hourly intervals throughout the day. Average ambulatory blood pressure responses to stress were calculated by regressing momentary SBP and DBP on momentary measures of stress within the multilevel models. Early life SES and childhood trauma were measured retrospectively by self-report questionnaire.

RESULTS

Multilevel models controlling for momentary influences on blood pressure and age, sex, and race showed no main effects of early life SES or childhood trauma on ambulatory measures of cardiovascular responses to daily life stress. An interaction emerged for DBP responses to social conflict, where individuals raised in middle SES families who experienced trauma showed a blunted response relative to those who did not ([Formula: see text]-0.93, 95% CI: [-1.62, -0.24], p = .008). There was no significant SES-trauma interaction in predicting SBP responses to social conflict or blood pressure responses to task strain.

CONCLUSION

Results do not provide support for our predictions that were derived from the adaptive calibration model, but do suggest that the impacts of early childhood experiences on cardiovascular responses may vary by type of daily stress experience.

Sleep and Daily Social Experiences as Potential Mechanisms Linking Social Integration to Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping

OBJECTIVE

Socially integrated individuals are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality compared with their more isolated counterparts. This association may be due, in part, to the effect of social integration on nocturnal blood pressure (BP) decline or "dipping," a physiological process associated with decreased disease risk. However, the pathways linking social integration with nocturnal BP dipping are unknown. We sought to replicate the association between social integration and BP dipping, and to test whether sleep characteristics (duration, regularity, continuity) and/or daily social interactions (frequency, valence) helped to explain the association.

METHODS

A total of 391 healthy midlife adults completed an actigraphy assessment protocol that measured sleep. During four actigraphy assessment days, participants also completed ambulatory BP monitoring and ecological momentary assessment protocols that measured BP and social interactions at regular intervals throughout the day. Social integration was assessed via a questionnaire.

RESULTS

Linear regression controlling for age, sex, race, education, and body mass index indicated that higher levels of social integration were associated with greater nocturnal BP dipping, as indicated by a smaller ratio of night/day mean arterial pressure (β = -0.11, p = .031). Analyses of indirect effects suggested that this association was explained, in part, by greater sleep regularity among more integrated individuals. We did not find evidence for other hypothesized indirect effects.

CONCLUSIONS

This was the first study to investigate sleep and social mechanisms underlying the link between social integration and nocturnal BP dipping. Because sleep regularity is modifiable, this pathway represents a potential intervention target to promote nocturnal BP dipping.

Social Integration and Diurnal Cortisol Decline: The Role of Psychosocial and Behavioral Pathways

OBJECTIVE

A growing number of studies have associated various measures of social integration, the diversity of social roles in which one participates, with alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) functioning. The pathways through which social integration may be linked to HPA functioning, however, are as yet unknown. The present study examined whether daily social interactions, affective responses, health behaviors, and personality help explain the association between social integration and diurnal cortisol slope.

METHODS

A sample of 456 healthy, employed adults (53.9% female, 82.0% white, 72.2% bachelor's degree or greater, mean age of 42.86 years) completed a 4-day ecological momentary assessment protocol that measured cortisol, social interactions, affect, sleep, and physical activity at frequent intervals throughout the day. Social integration was measured at baseline.

RESULTS

Regression results controlling for age, sex, race, and education indicated that more socially integrated individuals showed steeper cortisol slopes (B = -0.00253, p = .006). Exploratory analyses suggested that the consistency (i.e., reduced variability) in nightly sleep midpoint partially explained this association (B = -0.00042, 95% confidence interval = -0.00095 to -0.00001). Personality, mood, social interaction patterns, and nonsleep health behavior differences did not account for the association between social integration and HPA activity.

CONCLUSION

This study replicates previous findings linking social integration and HPA functioning, and it examines patterns of nightly sleep as possible pathways through which the association may operate. Results have implications for understanding mechanisms for health risk and for development of future interventions.

1091 The Effects Of Sleep Duration, Timing, And Depressed Mood On Daily Eating Patterns

Introduction

Insufficient sleep, circadian misalignment, and altered eating patterns are linked to depression. Despite the temporal association between the sleep/wake and feed/fast cycles, it is unclear how depression severity influences this relationship.

Methods

Sixty-eight participants ages 18-65 years across the depression continuum wore an Actiwatch for 5-17 nights and reported daily meal times (730 nights total). Multilevel models tested previous night’s sleep timing and duration as predictors of the length of the next day’s eating window. Within-person sleep duration and timing were entered as Level 1 predictors to account for nightly variation in sleep. Between-person sleep duration and timing were entered as Level 2 predictors. A three-way interaction between depression severity and Level 2 sleep duration/timing was entered. Covariates included age, gender, and day (weeknight/weekend).

Results

Across participants, average later sleep timing predicted a longer eating window (Β= -.222; p =.005). Earlier sleep timing (Β= -.186; p < .001) and shorter sleep duration(Β= -.103; p < .001) relative to a person’s average each predicted a longer next-day eating window. A three-way interaction was found between sleep duration, timing, and depression (Β= -.159; p = .002). At shorter sleep durations, individuals with higher depression severity had a positive relationship between sleep timing and eating window length, and individuals with low depression had a negative relationship between sleep timing and eating window length.

Conclusion

At shorter sleep durations (< 6.5 hr), individuals with high depression and later sleep timing or low depression and early sleep timing had the longest eating windows, which have been linked to adverse metabolic health. Future experiments should test short sleep duration, sleep timing, and depression as potential causes of lengthened eating windows to determine if targeting sleep duration and timing could improve adverse metabolic markers in depression.

Support

NIMH K.A.R. MH103303